If Joe's Cooked, What Now? (w/ Ettingermentum)
Added 2024-07-12 13:29:18 +0000 UTCJust about two weeks ago, we gave a nearly real-time reaction to Joe Biden's catastrophically inept performance in his first presidential debate against Donald Trump. The fallout has been swift but not certain—a flood of stories in the press were unleashed, giving the impression that Biden has been worse, for longer, than most of us knew, all of them filled with cringe-inducing details that gave the impression of a man in rapid decline. Still, Biden has stubbornly insisted that he will remain the Democratic nominee, and the party seemingly has not yet coalesced around a strategy to force his exit.
So where are we? To help us answer that question, we had on Josh Cohen, the proprietor of the Ettingermentum newsletter, one of the most essential reads on U.S. electoral politics, especially the presidential race. We tried to figure out just how bad of shape Joe Biden is currently in, why the age and infirmity issues will not go away, the possibilities for replacing Biden, what the upsides of his various replacements (especially Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer) could be, how Democrats should attack Trump, and more!
Sources:
Ettingermentum, "How Biden Can Win in 2024," Nov 14, 2023
— "What Happens Now?" June 28, 2024
— "The Emergency Biden Replacement Tier List," July 4, 2024
— "Biden's Disgraceful Gambit," July 8, 2024
Emily Baumgaertner and Peter Baker, "Parkinson’s Expert Visited the White House Eight Times in Eight Months," New York Times, July 8, 2024
Steven Shepard, "Baldwin Outruns Biden," Politico, July 9, 2024
Comments
Love you guys. ❤️❤️
Kevin Spicer
2024-07-30 10:20:24 +0000 UTCListening to this for the 1st time feels way better post-Joe retirement. I was in a bubble re: Biden's age for a long time, but seeing "please let this not matter" and "I can't believe this is happening again" comments during the debate were enough. This is outtdated punditry now I guess but after the debate the pro Biden case was also relying on comically shaky ground like Josh mentioned. It assumed not just polling error but enough squish voters 'coming home' to Biden in a post-pandemic/2020 election AND people just... not paying attention? All three of which were a little too fucking feeble for us trying to stop another Trump presidency.
Taylor
2024-07-25 02:47:23 +0000 UTCAny excuse for more Abby & Patrick on KYE is good!
Paul Bowman
2024-07-21 23:12:03 +0000 UTCNow what we all want to know is if Matt got through to Francis and Francis made that call to Joe.
Paul Bowman
2024-07-21 20:55:12 +0000 UTCHuge news today lads
Brick Ingle
2024-07-21 19:42:18 +0000 UTCHey fellas, great episode but as a Michigander I feel the discussion around Whitmer needs additional context. Strong a candidate as she might be, that she did so well against her Republican opponents is also a statement about those opponents. Bill Schutte in 2018 was a divisive candidate (the outgoing gop governor refused to endorse him) coming off 8 years of Republican rule that had poisoned Flint among other scandals. He was also, in my opinion, kind of weird. The 2022 race was notorious because her two strongest potential challengers got themselves knocked off the ballot because the petition company they hired faked signatures. That left a fringe candidate, Tudor Dixon, on the ballot. Whitmer has strong points but it’s questionable whether she would have beaten both gop challengers if the party had managed better candidates.
Kenichi Serino
2024-07-18 17:14:36 +0000 UTCCo-sign all the comments asking to pull this from behind the paywall. Would be happy to share it with friends.
Cosmo Pappas
2024-07-17 00:25:27 +0000 UTCThanks. I too would like to see such episodes. One about W. Clinton/Blairite "Third Way" triangulation might be good. I'm not sure what intellectual component it had. Also Obama's embrace of technocracy, like Sunstein's "libertarian paternalism" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_paternalism He has his faults, but at least Biden is acting in accord with old New Deal Liberalism (mostly), not the "gain, grow, give" facade for trickle-down that took hold in the Democratic Party in the '90s. (Not sure if "gain, grow, give" is the right slogan. It was three G words. The last was "give", which is the part that conspicuously didn't happen: the wealth from free markets was supposed to be distributed downwards ["given"], but it wasn't.) Lest I lose the Asshole merit badge that my first (and only, I hope) post gained me, I'd legit love for Sam to invite back that Freudian he had on way back when. Topic of discussion: "Freud's 'Death Drive': Should the Left Worry That They're Subject to It?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_drive
Brian Marick
2024-07-16 22:07:13 +0000 UTCCan I just add here that it is imperative to have an analysis and gaming out of what enacting Project 2025 looks like? I would think this would take several episodes.
mark o'hare
2024-07-16 13:38:44 +0000 UTCPretty much.
erik w bjorke
2024-07-16 13:29:02 +0000 UTCBernie can speak, Biden can’t so much. Ppl are upset about not being able to speak, right?
Ap
2024-07-16 13:17:07 +0000 UTCI would love to be able to share this with my people who aren't on patreon
Dan Anderson
2024-07-16 04:49:46 +0000 UTCI love the use of soundbites :)
Dan Anderson
2024-07-16 03:53:29 +0000 UTCI do see the Nixonian similarity to Biden, though right now Biden seems more like Trump in suffering from the “only I can fix this” syndrome. I doubt Biden will step down. Frankly at this point I think someone should form an accountability project to ensure that in November when Biden loses all his supporters in Congress and Senate who defended his staying on are taken to task when they run for re-election.
Sierra
2024-07-15 23:56:44 +0000 UTCThis is a great point! I’ve been thinking about the Biden-Nixon link too and their respective actions when force/asked to remove themselves. Post-debate Biden seems to have shifted his “anger” from I’ll fight for you (insert group) towards I’m fighting for me and you should fight for me too.
Frank Wofford
2024-07-15 23:46:51 +0000 UTCThis is a really insightful comparison. Liberalism is one of those terms that has no precision (no one actually identifies as liberal). But I define it as the ideology of the middle-class because the middle-class is its economic basis. I’ve been thinking a lot about disgraced Marty Peretz’s memoir where he just names names and calls them all failures, including himself. It’s sort of a modern Making It in how shamelessly he depicts his own social climbing. There is this semi-meritocratic generation that Biden is a part of that has both a fascination with the elite and deep resentment. And the truth is that their accomplishments in comparison to that old elite isn’t as good. Either their accomplishments aren’t as important or their intellectual depths are shallow. George K. Kennan (and there’s much you can criticize) has more depth to him than the generation that replaced him. Peretz memoir was also published by Saul Bellow’s son who has a book praising meritocracy. It’s the same decline. It makes you wonder generationally what has changed sociologically to produce Joe Biden and his pathologies.
Steven Ngo
2024-07-15 22:20:15 +0000 UTCGreat episode didn't know Josh's backstory as political savant.
Kevin Spicer
2024-07-15 20:43:28 +0000 UTCJosh’s point about Biden holding Nixonian resentments was very thought provoking. It made me think of an interesting parallel between Biden, Nixon and LBJ (another President who seemed to hold similar resentments based on the Caro biography). In that all three of them faced crises in which they were called to resign/step down. And obviously in the case of Nixon and LBJ they both did and it seems that Biden will not. It may not be a fair conclusion to draw from this, but to me, it seems to illustrate the decline of democratic influence on our political elites and the degree to which they are insulated from public opinion now. Curious if anyone has any thoughts on this. Anyways, another great episode keep up the great work!
Brendan Kane
2024-07-15 13:08:40 +0000 UTCI see this a lot among friends to and really feel like taking a breath and realizing that a “cool picture” is all it is. Wow, another cool picture of Trump?? I dunno, I see how the reactionaries love it but don’t see why anyone else would. Don’t have to get depressed at their glee - they’d do it anyway.
Ap
2024-07-15 04:50:43 +0000 UTCI'm just waiting for the ludicrous West Wing comparisons. "Well, President Bartlett had MS, that shows how you do it!"
Steven Brown
2024-07-14 19:51:58 +0000 UTCfantastic ep and josh is a great guest but v hard not to think, in light of the trump shooting but also bernies op ed, etc, that this window has completely closed. voices are already calling for "stability" and "civility" and that talk spells doom
Jack Wolfe
2024-07-14 17:27:21 +0000 UTCI’ve been telling people about this brilliant episode- listened twice. Would love it if you removed the paywall.
Jane Cameron
2024-07-14 14:30:30 +0000 UTCI came to say something similar. Everything is different now. Joe is completely doomed and maybe that goes for all alternates
Martin Kurien
2024-07-14 14:01:28 +0000 UTCYes…also a way to flip the script after every Dem stopped calling Trump literally Hitler for a bit to wish him a speedy recovery
Violet Lucca
2024-07-14 13:02:25 +0000 UTCTurns out we don't live in the funniest timeline
Laura
2024-07-14 04:22:02 +0000 UTCEspecially after the rally shooting, that kind of spectacle would be an especially good idea to shift attention away from everything that just happened
genrepunk
2024-07-14 02:46:08 +0000 UTCI listened just before the trump rally shooting and there’s still a lot to know about, but putting on my cynical politicking hat (which seems to be the most consistently correct one, unfortunately) this does nothing but increase Trump’s lead. His showbiz instincts to raise his fist with a bloodied face were, I’m sorry, masterful. You’re looking at the once and future king, folks. Gretchen who?
DJM
2024-07-14 02:04:04 +0000 UTCI do appreciate the reply, Brian. I’m generally with you on coalition and cooperation. We can look also of course to France in last few weeks (and wish we actually had an organized left to do what for present they’ve managed over there). I don’t take Cohen’s attitude as extreme. As to what KYE is about, I’d be glad for more attention to the Democrats’ fundamental conservatism. Fighting the right in the U.S. means among other things appreciating that for what it is, making some decent sense of characteristic political failures of a mainstream partner of evil necessity, and negotiating the terrain really before us. With or without the presidency, the right advances (and does a lot of harm, even if this isn’t just the same as winning) as we neglect to face it squarely.
Paul Bowman
2024-07-13 20:40:39 +0000 UTCSome of the most inane discourse around this (e.g the baffling “only old white men want Biden to step aside” posts) falls into this weird habit people have of avoiding actual argument in favor of tortured metacommentary. I see the logic of Harris as the most legitimate candidate, but re: the prospect of a lightning primary or contested convention, I’m fully in the “less sanctimony, more acrimony” camp— as you said, give people some actual politics.
Nik
2024-07-13 19:14:37 +0000 UTCYou'll probably be interested in our next episode (it'll be in front of the paywall)
Know Your Enemy
2024-07-13 19:00:12 +0000 UTCHey guys, great podcast as usual. But I wonder if you could do those of us on the anti-war left a favor and at least mention Gaza when you talk about Biden. I know that you are primarily a history show and that perhaps justifies the way you have studiously avoided that topic. But it seems odd when you were doing your pundit episodes.
Peter
2024-07-13 17:59:04 +0000 UTCJoe Biden did all the work of establishing the credibility of the discussion by literally (“actually”) being sociopathic in his complete disregard of the incredibly damaging implications of an electoral defeat in November. A defeat, furthermore, which is vouchsafed *not* by any sort of media treachery or by the small handful of backbenchers who have spoken out (they all have their own interests and we don’t need to impute altruistic motives where they don’t necessarily exist) **but by the gross negligence— political malpractice might be the better frame—of a moribund administration that has spent the last four years covering for a decrepit, disingenuous, physiologically unwell man who has been among other things ACTIVELY COMMITTED TO THE EXTERMINATION of an entire people. These are not unrelated issues, and no amount of pearl clutching will be enough to alter the fact that the administration is itself, alone, responsible for the looming catastrophe. [and for what it’s worth, I think the hosts have been WONDERFUL throughout.❤️]
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-13 17:42:49 +0000 UTCPaul Bowman: I didn't mean to say, "The Republicans are the enemy, so prop up the Democrats". I meant to say the enemy is fascist revanchists and *they're winning*. 1. This is, if I understand correctly, a podcast to arm the left with historical knowledge that can inform present action. The podcast's sweet spot has been examinations of particular intellectuals and intellectual-adjacent movements, exposing what well-spoken people were hiding. Well, they're barely hiding it now, so I think a historical podcast intending to inform action should shift to times when people didn't hide behind fancy words. More Jim Crow Dixiecrats, fewer West Coast Straussians. Snyder's /Bloodlands/ is more relevant than a biography of Buckley or even Gary Wills. An example: When Trump v. US came down, I was nearing the end of /The Nazi Seizure of Power/, so I saw how Roberts' rhetoric about the need for "a vigorous and energetic President" echoed the Nazis' appeal. Nazis used the same words *a lot*; vigor and youth and all that were central to their appeal, as a specific contrast to the old and weak and ineffectual SDP. An episode on the theme of vigor-vs-weakness as propaganda throughout 20th century history would be informative as we act today. Including how often the left falls prey to the lust for a vigorous Leader. Sometimes we're our own enemy, and we should know ourselves. (Too cutesy: sorry.) 2. It's tired, I know, but dammit: "Coalitions are necessary. In 1932, in the crucial German election, the far left and the center left were separated. The reasons for this were very specific: Stalin ordered the German communists to oppose the German social democrats, thereby helping Hitler to power. To be sure, the American political spectrum is very different, as are the times. Yet the general lesson does suggest itself: the left has to hold together with the the center-left, and their energies have to be directed at the goal rather than at each other." (Timothy Snyder, "How to Stop Fascism", https://snyder.substack.com/p/how-to-stop-fascism) This was an episode proposing action, but it did it in a really dangerous way. What if he doesn't drop out? "Yeah, we agreed he's a mentally incompetent psychopath, but the other guy is worse, so vote D." If I were forced to give an opinion, I'd say roll the dice on Biden withdrawing from the campaign and throwing full support behind Harris. But I'd want to do it so that, if I failed, I failed without making Biden's chances worse. That is not what this podcast did; far from it. I guess that makes me a squish. But, dammit, the world would be so much better if Bush had lost Florida in 2000.
Brian Marick
2024-07-13 16:41:16 +0000 UTCExactly, the fact that Obama tried to convince Joe not to run in 2020, then used his unique influence in the party to ensure he got the nomination - when he himself believed Joe wasn’t up to the job - is extremely damning. The further I get from 2008, the more clearly it seems that Obama’s presidency and brand of politics have been a historical disaster.
drizzly_november
2024-07-13 16:35:24 +0000 UTCObama also intervened in the 2020 primary prior to Super Tuesday to get leading candidates to drop out and endorse Biden. One way to look at this is Biden owes Obama a lot. Another way to look at this is that Obama bears significant responsibility for getting us into this mess. He intervened in 2016 to help clear the field for Clinton at a time when Biden likely would have beat Trump. And now it sounds like he is unwilling to do what is necessary to help salvage the 2024 election for the Democrats. As a party leader Obama also had the genius of dismantling the DNC's 50-state strategy less than two years before a redistricting cycle in 2009 and he threw ACORN under the bus, when the Republicans wisely targeted the organization because of its value to the Democratic Party. Obama's only primary endorsement in 2018 was to prop up Diane Feinstein. Obama was a spectacular candidate, but his skills as a party leader got us Trump and 6-3 Republican control of the Supreme Court. No turnaround for the party until there is a more honest appraisal of Obama's own strengths and short-comings.
J P 3
2024-07-13 16:12:21 +0000 UTCJF: I was comparing the way the hosts interacted with the guest, not saying the guest was a Nazi. The header to the episode says "We tried to figure out just how bad of shape Joe Biden is currently in" – no. It was an unchallenged presentation (amplification, really) of a particular point of view. But I was probably wrong to draw the comparison. One was a person smoothly slipping a barely-reasonable-sounding gloss on abhorrent beliefs past the hosts; the other was making extraordinary claims without much evidence, much less extraordinary evidence. In both cases, credibility for position was *given*, not earned. I think it's a flaw of their interviewing style. Too much Ezra Klein, not enough Chotiner.
Brian Marick
2024-07-13 14:40:26 +0000 UTCThis episode was recorded before the news cycle about Biden aides whispering that Obama was coordinating efforts to push him out, but I can't stop thinking about the utter resentment and ingratitude Biden has for Obama. Without Obama, Biden right now would just be a Chris Dodd, or a Dianne Feinstein wandering the Senate halls. He plucked him off the ashbin of the 2008 primary, when Biden crashed out after making a patronizing, racist remark about Obama, and helped make him one of the most popular, prominent VPs in recent memory. VP Biden totally remade his public image into the fun uncle, buddy-cop, aviators & pony car guy. And he had actual influence in the administration - Obama consulted him on domestic policy, he was in on crucial meetings on Afghanistan, and was the admin's point man on Ukraine (which led to the whole Hunter corruption mess). And yet he feels so slighted and bitter! He clearly felt the VP years as humiliating, as every veep does, and that shows in the way he's totally undercut Kamala. But the seething resentment against the one man who kept your political career alive is startling.
drizzly_november
2024-07-13 14:26:52 +0000 UTCYes, and the same thing in 2020, when Obama gently tried to get him not to run. Biden thinks the haters and losers were wrong twice in '16 and '20 and they're wrong now.
drizzly_november
2024-07-13 14:15:32 +0000 UTCThe Afghanistan withdrawal approval impact was happening simultaneously with the first big increase in inflation. Biden's handling of the withdrawal clearly had a negative impact. However, the end of the honeymoon period, started months earlier. Things were trending towards net 0 territory before mid-August. They stabilized around 0 percent net approval heading into January 2022. The second big hit came with the big spike in inflation resulting in part from the full scale Russia invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. Another hit took place with the end of the COVID-relief programs in June-Sept 2023. As far as Biden is concerned, I think the Dems need to do whatever they need to do to get him off the ticket. However, they obviously need to do it before the convention. e.g. I actually feel somewhat optimistic about the Democrats chances if they are able to swap out Biden at the convention. e.g. the first introduction to the new candidate will be at a convention in front of a very large national audience. If Biden agrees to go voluntarily, give him a nice send off, thanks for the memories, thanks for saving democracy, etc. If he doesn't go voluntarily, just send him off. Part of the reason that Biden is more replaceable than someone like Trump is that Biden's core base are basically people who have a direct connection to him. This isn't a case like Trump where the GOP has to contend with a large, unreliable voting bloc that will stay home without him on the ticket. Biden's political base are party-first Democrats, not Biden loyalists. The mechanisms for doing this are obviously difficult. However, the Democrats need to use any point of leverage -- including the threat of impeachment and removal (before the convention).
J P 3
2024-07-13 04:47:52 +0000 UTCNo clear idea what Sam &/or Matt might say on this score, but I think regarding ‘the enemy’ of the podcast name as the other party and taking the aim to be that party’s defeat is mistaken. Today’s Republicans are the right, wholesale, but the Democrats are also substantially the right as a matter of history and of present policy. Obviously a host of good grounds people who identify meaningfully as left have for supporting Democrats even so. But knowing the enemy means confronting the right in both American mainstream guises, surely.
Paul Bowman
2024-07-13 02:11:34 +0000 UTCHad to sign up a second time to get access. Please tell me I'm not being charged twice monthly now....
Dan Buskirk
2024-07-13 02:09:05 +0000 UTCyou paid money to post this malarkey haha
Eric Roesch
2024-07-13 01:50:32 +0000 UTCTssk tssking is absolutely the path to a solid progressive future
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-13 00:14:09 +0000 UTCWow ok comparing Josh to a Nazi? Maybe take a break in the shade and catch a breath
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-13 00:12:17 +0000 UTCThis episode was way over the top. Your guest repeatedly called Biden a psychopath, citing as evidence a paragraph of a beltway insider's book. I think we've all known people who get fixated on one person and think everything that person does *obviously* reveals they are absolutely without any redeeming qualities. Such people seem to never provide serious solutions, only to exacerbate problems. And presenting "Gretchen is great!" and "I guess Kamala is maybe OK" without any actual realpolitik considerations came across as painfully naive. The fact that you didn't treat your guest as extreme and didn't push back reminded me *so much* of your notorious interview with the right wing guy who played you with false reasonableness and later turned out to be nazi-adjacent. I am so, so disappointed. You've had endless episodes about how people like Buckley cold-bloodedly went for the win (for example, how they did the dance to make the Birchers seem excluded while sub rosa accepting them). I'd expect you, in an episode like this, to put some of that learning to use. The point of "knowing your enemy" is to *counter* him. Did you help position us to counter Trump? Maybe an issue is that you're thinking of the Enemy as Buckley. Oh, but the enemy can be much worse: might I suggest a series of episodes on older fascists and more recent pseudo-fascists like Orban and Modi. The era of the genteel, lit'ry enemy is ending. Books like /The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town 1922-1945/ are more relevant to today's problem than are biographies of people on the masthead of the National Review. Please: you have great talent: rise to the occasion!
Brian Marick
2024-07-12 23:40:17 +0000 UTCI’m so mad about Biden refusing to drop out I finally became a patron to listen to this. And you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT to say people would love a contested convention in terms of entertainment and politics!!! Seeing the Dems grow up and admit fault would be huge.
Violet Lucca
2024-07-12 23:36:25 +0000 UTCKlain and Bauer are going down in history like Haldeman and Ehrlichman
Blackford Oakes
2024-07-12 22:59:58 +0000 UTCI love that our country went from "Catholics are beholden to the Pope and shouldn't have power" to "Why the fuck is our Catholic President not listening to the Pope!?"
DC
2024-07-12 22:10:23 +0000 UTCIt's nice to see the overlap in demographics between Chapo and NYE. That's left unity.
DC
2024-07-12 22:09:00 +0000 UTCThe fact that we as a country are in this mess leaves me feeling somewhat depressed. Thankful for our lovely co-hosts and Josh's sardonic, dry wit to keep the tone lively and not soul-sucking. Keeping things hopeful and moving forward is the only way we can get through these turbulent times!
Jacob James
2024-07-12 21:13:15 +0000 UTCThat makes two of us
Jacob James
2024-07-12 21:08:49 +0000 UTCGreat episode, love Josh. The only thing I bumped on was the “reality show style lightning round primary.” I agree it’s great TV, but I’m not convinced the Dem base of rule-followers/ “my norms” would approve. (Not to mention the donors…!)
Aaron Lee
2024-07-12 20:56:57 +0000 UTCThe mainstream media will continue to be very critical of the Biden administration and campaign while the conservative right wing media will totally not be critical of the Trump campaign. This is the advantage the right has; this right wing media bubble that is committed to partisanship and has little to no commitment to truth or a reality that isn’t their right wing view of the world. This is how the center left digs its own grave. The right just sits back and watches as the center left destroys itself via journalistic integrity.
erik w bjorke
2024-07-12 19:34:46 +0000 UTC"Media-fed?!?" Unless "The Media" somehow ginned up the debate, the ABC interview, the NATO summit press conference, I just don't see it. Biden could just agree to have a full physical/neuro workup and reveal the results. Assuming the results are as he claims they would be, THAT would put an end to the discussion (well, at least mute it). But he refuses to do that.
Jerry Callen
2024-07-12 19:14:14 +0000 UTCIt would be nice if Patreon had a mechanism for gifting podcast episodes. This is one that I would gladly give to others and, I suspect, would recruit new subscribers.
John F
2024-07-12 18:59:09 +0000 UTCI think its a good shout on Whitmer. I think she could be a person of the times. I wouldn’t do Michelle Obama, there are already conspiracies on the right about her, like my dad, who isn’t radicalized but is a Reagan Republican, said to me months ago prior to any debate at this point “what this, Biden will drop out and Michelle Obama will mysteriously appear”. Like the general vibe I pick up is anything other than Trump Biden in 2024 is appealing to the general populace. I’ll vote blue no matter who unfortunately because Trump, but if the Dems had some imagination for once would really be a win. Idk I think just adapting to the political moment in anyway would win over a lot of disenfranchised people. Great episode as always!
Senpai_Eeyore
2024-07-12 18:41:00 +0000 UTCThe bit about Trump's relation to the ascension of professional women in politics is so true. Personally, I can't recall my mom or grandmother talking politics much until Trump vs Hillary. Now it's all they talk about.
Brian Swoveland
2024-07-12 18:30:42 +0000 UTCThe way I see it, our only hope is that the golf contest actually happens. Biden said he'd do it if Trump carries his own clubs, and of course if Trump carries his own clubs then Biden will be forced to defend his alleged vigor by carrying his own clubs too. And if they both carry their own clubs and walk for a whole round of golf, I think there's a solid chance they both drop dead. Killed by their own inability to admit their weaknesses, what could be better?
Laura
2024-07-12 18:15:41 +0000 UTCLovely conversation as always! Myself and other comrades in DSA are attempting to make dropoutjoe.net into a reality by incorporating it into our participation in the March on the DNC. Would love to get your guys impression of the organizing push! Cheers, "Archie"
Dallas Knapp
2024-07-12 17:46:51 +0000 UTCGreat episode. On Biden’s self-perceived renegade streak against Democratic elites, it’s worth noting that he took 2016 as confirmation that party elites both look down on him and have bad political instincts. The Obamasphere told him that he couldn’t run because it was Hillary’s turn, and he’s convinced that if he had run he would have prevented the first Trump administration. He might even be right about 2016, but the lesson he took from it is that he doesn’t need to listen to anyone else’s take on whether he should run.
Matthew
2024-07-12 17:43:52 +0000 UTCEtti's stuff on Israel (and the length of Biden's relationship with that nation) is also great reporting that clarified a ton of biden's middle east policy to me. Great ep!
Leonardo Restrepo
2024-07-12 17:27:18 +0000 UTCAs Will Menaker's said throughout the year, I can't imagine things going on like this till November, and I also can't imagine them doing anything to change it.
drizzly_november
2024-07-12 16:52:21 +0000 UTCI am so sickened and pissed at this dottering narcissistic fool. I hate that the right actually got this one right on Biden. He needs to go, 25th Amendment him I don’t care
Kyle Mitchell
2024-07-12 16:51:01 +0000 UTCI’m still bullish on him dropping out.
Ryeman
2024-07-12 16:39:10 +0000 UTCI liked them as well, a bit more grist than theory, nice change of pace from the usual.
Jonathan Hung
2024-07-12 16:17:07 +0000 UTCbased
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-12 15:32:53 +0000 UTCI’m canceling my subscription because I have no patience with Democrats who are joining in the media-fed Biden blood feast.
Edward Hutchinson
2024-07-12 15:23:18 +0000 UTCI agree with you on Biden. I just wanted to point out that Bernie is older and not, at least perceptibly, declining like he is. Yes, Biden ain’t up to it. I think this has given license to many to just be super ageist. He should have been a one term president. His whole selling point was that he could beat Trump and be a transitional figure to make way for a younger generation. He let his personal ambitions get in the way.
erik w bjorke
2024-07-12 15:17:05 +0000 UTCAs an fully entitled Unreconstructed Monarchist, I urge you to pull this episode out from behind the paywall immediately! This was SUCH a good discussion of the realities of the moment, and the unwashed KYE masses DESERVE to hear this NOW.
Jerry Callen
2024-07-12 15:11:14 +0000 UTCThat’s an astronomically mixed metaphor but etti/ kye heads are picking up the radio signals as it were
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-12 15:10:44 +0000 UTCIf only the DP was an actual party as opposed to a vast constellation of often competing interests and factions orbiting a dying sun
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-12 15:09:31 +0000 UTCI will grant you that (as a subscriber to KYE...) I'm a bit of a political junky, but Whitmer is the FIRST name that popped into my head as I watched that horrible debate. I think that the amount of media attention that the Democratic Party will command if Biden steps back will be SO beneficial that whomever emerges as the candidate will get plenty of both exposure and money.
Jerry Callen
2024-07-12 15:08:45 +0000 UTCErik, I don't know how old you are. I'm 69, and in pretty decent health, and I question MY ability to keep up with the demanding schedule of the U.S. President. It's not that Biden is JUST old. It's that he is so clearly in decline (the sort of decline I have painfully watched my own parents and in-laws go through). It's not just the debate; I have felt that Biden was a poor choice for at least a year. You're right that ageism is real, and I DO believe that experience can bring wisdom. And Biden has displayed flashes of that over the past 4 years. But it's time.
Jerry Callen
2024-07-12 15:07:28 +0000 UTCEtti heads rejoice!
Where there’s a Wills there’s a Way
2024-07-12 15:06:59 +0000 UTCBanger ep with on-point analysis. Josh rocks!
Joel
2024-07-12 15:06:57 +0000 UTCLove hearing Josh
Bill Bush
2024-07-12 15:06:20 +0000 UTCDoes someone like Whitmer have the national profile to do better than Biden? Is she a known quantity among voters outside of Michigan, in other words. If not, could someone like her get there by Election Day?
Vincent
2024-07-12 14:52:14 +0000 UTCSuch a great guest, gotta get him back on
Henry Martyn
2024-07-12 14:52:08 +0000 UTCBernie Sanders is older than Biden and no one is saying that he is too old. He is not president or running for reelection at this moment, but I don’t think this so much about numerical age as ability. Bernie can give a speech in Congress and no will say he has dementia or his mind is failing in some way. I am sensitive about ageism, which I think is a real thing, and Biden has let everyone’s ageist freak flag fly. Really, everyone is being gratuitously ageist all over the place without any reservations and it is driving me nuts. Yes people probably should retire and let a younger generation take the reins. I also think society needs a dose of Confucianism around age.
erik w bjorke
2024-07-12 14:47:59 +0000 UTCA Chapo regular on KYE? My two favorite podcasts have melded into one. 😉
Axel Herrera
2024-07-12 14:45:19 +0000 UTCThis is a truly incredible episode—a rare level of shrewdness and clear sightedness. I wish the Democratic Party leadership had a modicum of this wisdom right now (or at least gave such wisdom a place at the negotiating table)
Charles Zug
2024-07-12 14:20:34 +0000 UTCHell yes! this is a podcast/guest combination I didn't know that I needed so badly
Will Sundstrom
2024-07-12 13:34:56 +0000 UTC
